Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Description
BATTERY RECHARGER
Technical Field
This invention relates generally to a battery
charger, and more particularly, to a self-contained omen-
agency battery charger for motors having a starter battery
and an alternator or generator.
Background Art
A motor vehicle storage battery frequently falls
into a state of discharge such that it cannot deliver
sufficient current to the starter motor. This occurs most
commonly due to excessive current drain, insufficient
charging time and severe environmental conditions.
To start a vehicle whose storage battery has run
down requires either bypassing the electrical starting
system entirely, or supplying the system with an additional
source of electrical power. The former is generally accom-
polished by push-starting the vehicle, the latter by using
jumper cables. Push-starting requires assistance in the
form of a push vehicle or muscle power. Additionally, only
cars fitted with standard transmissions can be push-started.
~ump-starting also requires the aid of an additional vow-
ale. Further, cables must be available and must be ester-
natty connected, requiring the user to exit the vehicle and
be exposed to the hazards of a possible battery explosion
and associated mishaps as a result of disconnection.
Several self-contained means for charging a
vehicle's inoperative battery to enable the vehicle to
start have been developed. United States Patent No.
4,004,208, issued to Tamminen, discloses a starting aid
which may be contained within a vehicle to provide an
emergency power source. This starting aid is not itself
readily rechargeable and requires approximately fifteen
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hours to recharge with the vehicle's engine running. This
is because the additional voltage supplied by the vehicle's
alternator or generator is required to recharge the charge
in aid batteries. Because of this very slight voltage
differential, no fast charge mode is possible in the
invention of Tamminen.
Other devices are known in the art, including
those disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,504,262, issued to
Soda et at.; No. ~,258,305, issued to Angling and No.
10 3,763,415, issued to Own by. These all require either a
connection to an external power source, or are insuffi-
ciently portable or require extensive charging and/or
recharging time.
Disclosure of Invention
It is therefore an object of the present
invention to provide an emergency charger for a starter
motor battery.
It is another object to provide a charger which
is inexpensive, and is safe and simple to operate.
It is another object to provide a battery charger
which is totally self-contained.
It is a further object to provide an emergency
charger which can itself be easily recharged from either an
AC or DC power source in a relatively short time.
Briefly, a preferred embodiment includes two
battery packs of nickel-cadmium batteries, each pack
delivering about eight volts and capable of delivering up
to fifty amps of current. Two circuits are provided: a
first circuit which connects the battery packs in series to
deliver the charging current to the vehicle storage bat-
tory, and a second circuit which connects the battery packs
in parallel to allow for their recharge from the vehicle
alternator/generator, battery or AC source. Each circuit
includes resistors in series with the battery packs to
maintain the electrical current delivered to or from them
at the desired level. A double-throw switch interconnects
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the two circuits and allows selection of either the charge
in mode or the recharging mode. A gauge showing the
amount of charging current is connected into the series
circuit. The charger itself is connected to the vehicle
battery through a cigarette lighter plug or by clips for
direct connection to the vehicle battery. An adapter is
included, allowing for recharge of the battery packs from
AC line current.
An advantage of the present invention is that it
enables a starter battery which has been discharged to be
charged enough in a few minutes to start.
Another advantage of the present invention is
that there is no requirement of an outside power source
when charging a vehicle's discharged battery.
It is another advantage of the present invention
that the unit is compact in size and weight.
Another advantage of the present invention is
that it is simple and safe to operate, and can be used with
practically any starter battery.
Another advantage of the present invention is
that is is portable and may be utilized in a vehicle
without the user having to exit the vehicle.
It is a further advantage of the present invent
lion that it can be recharged from an AC source and by DC
from the vehicle's battery without running the engine.
Another advantage of the present invention is
that it includes indicator means for keeping the user
informed of its functions.
These and other objects and advantages of the
present invention will no doubt become apparent to those
skilled in the art after having read the following detailed
description of the preferred embodiment which is thus-
treated in the various drawing figures.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the battery
charger showing its physical configuration;
tip
Figure 2 is a schematic circuit diagram of the
battery charger of the present invention;
Figure 3 is a schematic circuit diagram of an
alternative embodiment of the present invention; and
Figure 4 is a schematic circuit diagram of a
second alternative embodiment of the present invention.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
Figure 1 illustrates a battery charger of the
present invention and referred to by the general reference
character 10. The charger 10 is enclosed in a metal or
plastic housing 11 which measures approximately six inches
by two inches by three inches. A cable 12 is used to con-
neat the charger 10 to a vehicle cigarette lighter, and has
a plug 13 at one end for fitting whereinto, and a three-
terminal, general purpose plug 14 at the opposite end for
mating with a jack 15 formed into the housing 11. A second
cable 16 and a third cable 17 are provided to allow the
charger 10 to be connected directly to a vehicle battery
and to an AC power source, respectively. Both cables 16
and 17 include at one end the three-terminal, general
purpose plug 14 for mating with the jack 15. The cable 16
includes at its other end a pair of alligator-type clips 18
for attaching to the posts of a vehicle battery. The cable
17 includes at its other end an AC adaptor 19 which may be
inserted into a standard household electrical outlet.
A schematic circuit diagram of the charger 10 is
illustrated in Figure 2 and shows the components within the
housing 11 bounded by a dashed line. The three-terminal,
general purpose jack 15 contains a first terminal 21, a
second terminal 22 and a third terminal 23. A first bat-
tory pack 24, comprising seven rechargeable nickel-cadmium
batteries, is connected at its negative terminal to the
terminal 23 of the jack 15. In series with the battery
pack 24 and the terminal 22 is a light-emitting diode (LED)
26 and a resistor 28, connected to anode of the LED 26.
A second battery pack 30, also comprising seven
nickel-cadmium batteries, is connected to the first battery
pack 24 by a first series circuit and by a second, parallel
circuit. A four-pole, double-throw switch 32 enables
switching between the two circuits and contains a first, a
second, a third and a fourth pole 34, 36, 38 and 40.
The positive -terminal of the battery pack 30 is
connected, through the pole 40 of the switch 32, to the
terminal 21 of the plug 15. With the switch 32 in the
series mode, illustrated by the dashed line position, the
positive terminal of the battery pack 30 is directly
connected to the terminal 21. With the switch 32 in the
parallel mode, a resistor 42 is in series between the
battery 30 and the terminal 21. Also in this circuit is a
resistor 44, connected to an anode of an LED 46, both of
which are in parallel with the resistor 42. The negative
terminal of the battery 30 is connected to the negative
terminal of battery 24, through pole 38, when the switch 32
is in the parallel mode. With the switch 32 in the series
mode, a resistor 50 is in parallel with a diode 51, with a
resistor 52 in series. Also, parallel with diode 51 is a
resistor So in series with a galvanometers 54. These
components are connected to the positive terminal of the
battery 24 through the pole 36 of the switch 32 when in the
series mode. The final pole 34 of the switch 32 interposes
a resistor 56 in series with battery 24 in the parallel
mode and bypasses the resistor 56 when in the series mode.
A negative five-volt voltage regulator 57 is
connected to the terminal 22 of the plug 15 and includes an
input lead 58, an output lead 59 and a ground lead 60. The
input lead 58 is wired to the series pole 38 of the switch
32 and receives a negative input from the battery 24 when
the switch 32 is in series mode. The ground lead 60 is
wired to the terminal 22, and the output lead 59 is con-
netted to one terminal of a five-volt light bulb 61. The
other terminal of the bulb 61 is also wired to the terminal
to
22 of the plug 15. The bulb 61 is positioned within the
housing 11 near to the galvanometex to illuminate it.
The plug 14 which plugs into the jack 15 includes
a connection 62 across the terminals 21 and 22, connecting
both of these to the positive contact of the cigarette
lighter plug 13 or the clips 18. The other contact of the
plug 13 or the clips 18 is wired to the remaining terminal
23 of the plug 14.
The battery packs 24 and 30 each comprise seven
nickel-cadmium batteries of one and two-tenths tl.2) volts
and have a rated capacity of one and four-tenths ~1.4)
ampere-hours (Ah) each. Such batteries are preferably of
type manufactured by GE Corp. carrying the part number
KOlXIIICS. The resistor values utile iced in the preferred
embodiment are as follows, although other value combine-
lions may be used: resistors 28 and 42 are three hundred
and ninety ohms, resistors 44 and 56 are twenty-seven ohms,
resistor 52 is one-half an ohm, resistor 50 is 2.2K ohms
and resistor 53 is lo ohms.
Operation of the charger is as follows. With the
plug 14 inserted into the jack 15, the terminals 21 and 22
are connected to the coupling 62. This conducts the post-
live potential of terminal 21, through terminal 22, into
the anode of the LED 26. The LED 26 will light, indicating
that the power is on and the charger 10 is ready to charge
a discharged storage battery. Simultaneously, the positive
potential of terminal 21 will reach the ground 6 0 of the
voltage regulator 57. The switch 32 is placed in the
series or "output" position, which causes the battery packs
24 and 30 to be connected in series. This enables the
negative input from the switch element 38 to reach the
input 58 of the voltage regulator 57. The light bulb 61
will light, illuminating the face of the galvanometers 54.
In this series mode, the resistor 50 restricts
the flow of charging current delivered to the vehicle bat-
tory to about five (5) amps. The combined nominal voltage
between the battery packs I and 30 in series is about
sixteen and eight-tenths (160~) volts. The nominal voltage
of the vehicle battery is twelve (12) volts. The four and
eight-tenths (4.8) volt difference becomes a voltage drop
on resistor 50, thus allowing current to flow from the bat-
tory packs 24 and 30 to the vehicle's storage battery. The needle of the galvanometers 54 will indicate the presence of
this current flow by moving to the right during charging.
The galvanometers 54 is responsive to the voltage drop on
the diode 51, which is a drop of approximately six-tenths
(0.6) volt. The needle of the galvanometers will remain in
a constant position as long as the voltage drop on the
resistor 50 is higher than six-tenths I volt. This
method eliminates the effects of any sudden voltage drop
fluctuations of the resistor 50 on the galvanometers 54 when
charging a deeply discharged vehicle battery
As current flows from the battery packs 24 and 30
into the vehicle battery, the needle of the galvanometers 54
will remain to the right. When the charging current drops
to approximately one and five-tenths (1.5) amperes, the
voltage drop on the resistor 50 will approximate the volt-
age drop on the diode 51. A voltage drop of below six-
tenths (0.6) volt on the resistor 50 will cause a similar
drop on the diode 51, thus causing the needle of the gal van-
meter 54 to gradually move to the left, reaching the far
left when the current value of the battery packs 24 and 30
is about one-half (0.5) ampere. This indicates a sharp
decrease in the charging capability of the recharger 10,
and typically occurs after about forty-five minutes of
charging. Battery packs 24 and 30 together are capable of
delivering about 5040 ampere seconds of current. A stank
dart twelve-volt vehicle starter requires from one hundred
to six hundred ampere seconds, depending on vehicle size,
type and condition, to turn the engine. In most cases,
therefore, the vehicle battery will be recharged after only
five minutes.
At this point, the vehicle may be started. The
charger 10 may be recharged by direct current from the
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vehicle's battery. The vehicle's engine does not have to
be running to accomplish this. The switch 32 is switched
to the input position, bringing the parallel circuit into
play. In this position, the nominal voltage across the
battery packs 24 and 30 is eight and four tenths (8.4)
volts. The twelve-volt vehicle battery will thus recharge
the battery packs with a voltage drop of about three and
six-tenths (3.6) volts. With the vehicle's engine running,
an additional two (2) volts supplied by the alternator or
generator will increase this to about five and six-tenths
(5 .6) volts. The difference of voltage between the vehicle
battery and the battery pack 24 will drop on the resistor
56, while the voltage difference between the vehicle
battery and the battery pack 30 will drop on resistor 42.
During recharge, the LED 46 will light, indicating that
recharging of the battery packs 24 and 30 is occurring. To
avoid overcharge, the resistors 42 and 56 restrict the rate
of recharge to a value which is approximately one-tenth of
the battery's rated value . This is about one hundred and
forty (140) milliamps for the one and four tenths (1.4)
amp-hour batteries 24 and 30. Recharge time is dependent
on the degree to which charging current was drawn from the
battery packs 24 and 30. Typically, total recharge of the
battery packs 24 and 30 will occur in about fourteen to
sixteen hours. It is not critical to ascertain this point,
however, as the recharge mode is a trickle charge which
cannot overcharge the battery packs 24 and 30.
An alternative to DC recharging from the vehicle
battery is to use AC household current, supplied to the
recharger 10 through the AC adapter 19 and cable 17. The
adapter 19 does not include a connector 62; thus the ton-
finals 21 and 22 are not connected and the LED 26 will not
light. In all other respects, recharging of the battery
packs 24 and 30 is identical to the DC recharge method.
When recharge is completed, the cable 12 or 17 is
disconnected from the charger 10 and the charger and cable
stowed for future use.
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An alternative embodiment of the present invent
lion is illustrated in schematic in Figure 3 and designated
by the general reference character 10' . This circuit
employs eight sealed lead cells rather than fourteen
nickel-cadmium cells. This provides a cost advantage over
the preferred embodiment. These cells may be of a type
manufactured by GE Corp. and carrying the part number
BYWAY. The elements of the alternative embodiment
10' which are common to those of the preferred embodiment
carry the same reference numerals distinguished by a prime
t') designation. The alternative embodiment includes a
cigarette lighter plug 13' coupled to a three-terminal,
general purpose-type plug 14'. A three-terminal jack 15'
has a first terminal 21', a second terminal 22' and a third
terminal 23' . The plug 14' does not include the connection
62 of the preferred embodiment. Instead, a connection 99
couples the terminals 21' and 23' to one contact of the
plug 13', while the other contact of the plug 13' is wired
to the remaining terminal 22' . Terminal 23' is connected
to a negative terminal of a first lead acid battery pack
100. The positive terminal of battery pack 100 is
connected to a resistor 101 and the positive terminal of
the battery pack 110 is connected to a resistor 42'. A
three-pole, double-throw switch 104 is provided which
switches the circuitry of the recharger 10' from a parallel
mode to series mode and vice versa. The switch 104 has a
first pole 105, a second pole 106 and a third pole 107.
With the switch 104 in the parallel mode indicated by the
solid line position, the resistor 101, in series with the
battery 100, is connected in parallel with the resistor
42', which is in series with the battery pack 110, via
elements 106 and 107 of the switch 104. Parallel to the
resistor 42' is a resistor 44', wired to an anode of an LED
46'. In the parallel circuit, a negative terminal of the
battery pack 110 is connected, via pole 107 of the switch
104, to a negative terminal of battery pack 100. The
terminal 22' of the jack 15' is connected, when the switch
it
104 is in the parallel mode, with an input lead 111 to a
voltage regulator 112 through the first terminal 105. The
voltage regulator 112 further includes a ground lead 113
and an output lead 114. The ground lead 113 is connected
5 to the first terminal 21' of the jack 15', and the output
lead 114 is connected to the cathode of the LED 46' and
through the resistor 42' to the positive terminal of bat-
tory 110. Output lead 114 is further connected through the
pole 106 of switch 104 and a resistor 101 to the positive
terminal of the battery 100. The voltage regulator 112 is
responsive to the ambient air temperature for a proper
recharge voltage level setting and provides a constant
voltage recharge to the battery packs 100 and 110, thus
eliminating any possibility of overcharging them. Coupled
across terminals 21' and 22' of the jack 15' and in series
with each other are an LED 26' and a resistor 28', wired to
the anode of the LED 26' . With the switch 104 in the
series position, illustrated by the dashed lines, the
voltage regulator 112 is bypassed, and a galvanometers 54'
20 and a resistor 53' are brought into the circuit. These
components are parallel with each other and are wired in
series with the negative terminal of the battery pack 110,
through the pole 106 of the switch 104, through resistor
101, to the positive terminal of the battery pack 100.
25 Also included in the series circuit are a voltage regulator
57' and a lamp 61' wired to the battery 100 through the
series terminal 107 of the switch Andy to the terminal
22' of the ax 15'. The lamp 61' is positioned near to
the galvanometers 54' and serves to illuminate it, as in the
30 preferred embodiment
- Operation of the charger 10' is as described
relative to the charger 10 of the preferred embodiment.
A second alternative embodiment is illustrated i n
schematic in Figure 4 and designated by the reference
35 character 10". The charger includes a East recharging mode
to supplement the trickle charge mode of the preferred
embodiment. The elements of this embodiment which are
I
common to the preferred embodiment carry the same reference
numerals distinguished by a double-prime t") designation.
A control circuit 200 having a first pin 201, a second pin
202, a third pin 203, a fourth pin 204, a fifth pin 205 and
5 a sixth pin 206 is coupled into the parallel recharging
circuit and adapted for switching from the fast charge mode
to the trickle charge mode at a preselected voltage. The
control circuit 200 operates as known in the prior art.
The pin 201 is connected to the terminal 22" of the jack
15". The pin 202 is connected to the terminal 23" of the
jack 15". A resistor 28" is connected to a cathode of an
LED 26" and wired across the pins 201 and 202. In series
with a negative terminal of a battery 24" and the pin 202,
and in parallel with each other, are a resistor 207 and a
resistor 208. Between the resistor 208 and the pin 202 is
an LED 210, which is arrayed with its anode connected to
the resistor 208 and its cathode connected to the pin 202.
A positive terminal of the battery 24" is connected to the
pin 203 and is further connected to a cathode of a diode
51", which is in turn connected to one terminal of a
galvanometers 54". A resistor 52" provides a bypass around
the diode 51" and galvanometers 54". The galvanometers 54"
is connected to a first pole 214 of a three-pole, double-
throw switch 216. The switch 216 additionally has a second
pole 218 and a third pole 220, and has a first or series
position, illustrated by the dashed lines, and a second or
parallel position, illustrated by the solid lines. In the
parallel circuit, the galvanometers 54" is connected through
the pole 214 to a resistor 221, which is in turn connected
to a positive terminal of a second battery pack 30" .
Directly connected to the positive terminal of the battery
pack 30" is a lead from the pin 204 of the control circuit
200. A negative terminal of the battery pack 30" is
connected to the pole 218 of the switch 216 and is coupled
to the negative terminal of the battery pack 24" when the
switch 216 is in the parallel mode. The remaining terminal
21" of the jack 15" is coupled to the resistor 221 through
the pole 220 of the switch 216 when in the series mode.
Intermediate to the terminal 21'l and the resistor 221 is a
current switch 222 which is also connected to the pin 205
of the control circuit 200. The current switch 222 open-
ales as known in the art. Bypassing the current switch is
a resistor 224. A resistor 44" connected to a cathode of
an LED 46" is wired in parallel with a bypass resistor 224.
These components bypass the current switch 222 upon complex
lion of the fast charge of battery packs 24" and 30". In
10 the series mode, a shunt around the switch 222, resistors
224 and 44", and the LED 46" is made through the pole 220
of the switch 216. Also included in the series circuit is
the voltage regulator 57" coupled to the lamp 61". These
components are wired to the negative terminal of the
15 battery pack 24" and to the terminal 22" of the jack 15".
The lamp 61" is positioned to provide illumination for the
galvanometers 54". A pair of thermostats 226 and 228 are
wired in series and are connected to the remaining pin 206
of the control circuit 200, and through the remaining pole
20 218 of the switch 216 when in the parallel mode, through
the resistor 207 to the pin 202.
The circuit operates essentially as described in
the preferred embodiment. The battery packs 24" and 30"
are supplied with current through the resistors 52" and
25 22", respectively. Additionally, current will flow to the
battery packs 24" and 30" through the resistor 207, result-
in in a fast charge mode. In this mode, the LED 210 will
light as long as sufficient recharging current is flowing
through the resistor 207. The control circuit samples the
30 voltage across the terminals of the battery packs 24" and
30" and compares it with a preselected value. For the
eight and four-tenths (8.4) volt battery packs 24" and 30",
this value is about ten and five-tenths (10.5) volts. When
this value is reached, the control circuit 200 electronically-
35 lye shuts off current flowing through the current switch 222.
The current continues to flow in a trickle charge mode,
however, through the bypass resistor 224. This voltage
drop on resistor 22~ is sufficient to cause the LED 46" to
light, indicating the trickle charge mode. The decreased
voltage drop on the resistor 207 causes the LED 210 to go
out, signaling the fast charge mode has ceased. The
thermostats 226 and 228 are each placed in proximity to a
battery pack 24" or 30". If the battery packs 24" or 30"
generate excess heat before the voltage value reaches ten
and five-tenths (10.5) volts, this excess heat will be
sensed by one of the thermostats 226 or 228, which will
then open. This, in turn, signals the control circuit 200,
resulting in termination of the fast charge mode. The
remaining elements of the embodiment 10" function as
described for the preferred embodiment.
Although the present invention has been described
in terms of the presently preferred embodiments, it is to
be understood that such disclosure is not to be interpreted
as limiting. Various alterations and modifications will no
doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art after
having read the above disclosure. Accordingly, it is
intended that the appended claims be interpreted as cover-
in all alterations and modifications as fall within the
true spirit and scope of the invention.
